Transport needs to be a key topic at the One Planet Summit

Posted by Yuxin Wang on 7 December 2017 - 3:13pm

On 12 December 2017, the government of France is hosting the One Planet Summit, to celebrate the two year anniversary of the Paris Agreement. The organizers of the summit: the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, bring together of heads of state, as well as hundreds of CEOs, mayors, civil society representatives in Paris to accelerate our common efforts to fight climate change.

Transport needs to be a key topic at the One Planet Summit, with transport being responsible for about a quarter of energy related GHG emissions. SLoCaT estimates indicates that realizing the well-below 2 degrees target of the Paris Agreement will require a reduction of transport-related emissions from the current 7.7 gigatons CO2 equivalent to 2-3 Gt by 2050.

The One Planet Summit can reinforce the action on Transport and Climate Change by building support for the Transport Decarbonization Alliance (TDA) that was announced at COP23. The initiators – France, Portugal, The Netherlands and Costa Rica – firmly believe that more ambition and action is needed in the Transport sector. The Alliance trusts that governments, cities/territories and companies committed to decarbonize rapidly will, jointly together, succeed in building and massively deploying solutions, at a cost acceptable by society at large and with high returns. The Alliance is convinced that the visionaries, leaders and practitioners in business, science and government must be trusted to put the world on the right journey to a rejuvenated economy. Credible roadmaps to transformation exist, technical, behavioural and institutional barriers have to be tackled. Countries must now phase and synergize their efforts with cities and companies so that the right public policies, at national and subnational levels, match and foster the needed strategic investments. Read more on the TDA at: http://www.ppmc-transport.org/2017-a-new-transport-decarbonization-alliance-calls-frontrunners-to-step-forward/

Discussions on Transport in the One Planet Summit should:

Help promote the inclusion of transport in the Talanoa Dialogue process

Promote the Paris Process on Mobility and Climate “Global Macro Roadmap Outlining An Actionable Vision Towards Decarbonized, Resilient Transport” and development of regional-national versions as basis for policy making

Encourage action on adaptation to climate change in the transport sector, amongst others through engagement in the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation

Advance the development of a Global Status Report on Transport and Climate Change (TCCGSR) and

Increase coordinated climate action in the global transport sector through the Transport and Sustainability for All (SuM4All) Initiative